Much of the focus on a New Year is making the next entire year great.

And today is a “DAY ONE” for so many of us.  And that’s great.  Day One is better than “Day I Can’t” or “Day I Won’t” or “Day is Always Tomorrow”.

But Day One of a YEAR or LIFE is scary.

365 days is pretty darn overwhelming to me.

So, taking a cue from the #onedayatatime mantra that guides me in my sober area of life.

Today, I challenge you to just make TODAY great.

If each day we approach with these three things in the background (not necessarily the forefront… but always there, always present), imagine what NEXT New Year’s might feel like.

The Proverbial Day One should be a ray of hope.

It simply enforces the amazing TRUTH that we can change in an instant. Which is WONDERFUL.  Don’t get bogged down in the minutiae of how–simply decide, and just do.

“I have no idea how to workout or how to find my motivation,” you might say.

Take a walk. That’s all. Start there.  If you are straight off the couch, then walk.

Start Somewhere — June Letters Studio:

If you are dabbling in triathlon (e.g., you think you might want to start, but have no idea.), I do have a little book that might get you started. Well, it’s 415 pages. So it’s not little.

“But I don’t know how to eat well,” you say.

Well, I am not the nutritionist (nor do I play one on TV), but I have been working very hard on my nutrition for a long while now.  I don’t get it perfect. It’s not been fast. But it’s a thing I work on.

Eating well doesn’t have to be impossible.

Eat “clean” is a buzzword we don’t have to abide by.

But you can start with the simple, long-standing proposition of:  if I can grow it or if it came from an animal; it has been minimally (or not at all) processed, then it will fuel me well.

Eat at home.  Cook something simple and easy.  Stay away from junk that is weird colors, packed like a carnival, or from a drive through. Shop along the outer perimeter of the grocery.

These small things are daily changes that will matter long term.

“But I don’t cook!”

Yeah, I don’t really either. I married one.

Start with this one tonight if you are lost on what to make. It’s good.

All of the BUTS we want to say, there are things we can do RIGHT now to counteract them. It’s just about choosing to do that. Choosing to let ourselves win, not our internal mean girl or guy.

Choosing OURSELVES.

So today, we do this:

But what in the world does the LAST one mean?

We sometimes really fail at being nice to ourselves.

This has been a really long battle for me.

The mean girl voice in my head.  But I have managed to quiet her. A least a little in the past two years, especially the last six months. And it’s been quite the process.

But this little thing started at a place of doing nice things for myself.

Taking the time to say, “Hey Mere, you are worth a bath today.”

(How silly is that? Yes, I bathe. But I mean a nice bath instead of a quick shower where a seven year-old is standing outside and asking me questions or laughing at my “jiggly butt”.  That’s a real confidence booster: “Mom, why is your butt so jiggly.”  Lawd.)

And also, little by little, I started to go to bed earlier. (Because it was nice of me to do that. Nice to me.)

These small changes, have made big differences over time…

Ideas for nice things for you to do for you:

Any other ideas? What ideas and actions do you do for you?

So, let’s make today great.

Then we can worry about tomorrow–when tomorrow is today.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y’ALL!

#JustKeepMovingForward #YearOfNoNonsense

6 Responses

  1. Love this post! Simple, straightforward. I heard someone say today to quit wasting time getting ready to start a new program and just jump in which is essentially what you’re saying. I think there’s a lot of merit and just doing it! ??

  2. “Mom, why is your butt so jiggly?” You’re not the only one, Meredith. That’s a quote from my son about 20 years ago!

    Love the post. Good insights for the first day of the new year. Thanks.

    Suzanne

  3. I loved SATC, so I completely got your “Coloring” reference! I love this post–I’m going to save it for more todays when I need a reminder!

  4. thanks for the reminders!! Also- the nail polish link did not work! I need a 3 minute dry with 10 day staying power in my life!

  5. A story (possibly apocryphal) about the importance of beginnings:
    Napoleon wanted to be able to have his troops march in the shade because they’d be able to move faster and arrive fresher if they weren’t exposed to the sun all day. He directed his government to ensure that all major routes throughout his empire be lined with trees.
    An official, objecting: “But emperor, do you have any idea how long that will take?”
    Napoleon: “I do, and that’s why it’s important that we begin right away.”

    Anyway, thanks for this post. You’re super. I like you 🙂

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